CONCERNS have been raised that a decision to temporarily suspend emergency surgery at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen will become permanent.
The Western Trust said the decision was taken in the interest of public safety following difficulties in recruiting consultant surgeons.
This means the hospital will not be able to provide an emergency (unplanned) surgical rota from December 18, but other existing services will be maintained.
Speaking to the Irish News after a late-night meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Sinn Féin councillor Barry McElduff said there was no clear strategy from the Western Trust to restore the service.
“Given that they were describing this as a temporary change, but the Trust have admitted there is no strategy or plan as of yet to restore the service which is of huge concern,” he said.
“The mood in the community is one of serious concern and apprehension.
"There’s a feeling that if one service goes, then others will follow.
“To be fair to the Trust and the Department of Health, they did make a statement of commitment to the sustainability of the SWAH and its acute status.”
The Western Trust Medical director, Dr Brendan Lavery, said he accepted the concern and disappointment for patients.
“The reality is that there is one explanation, this has quite simply happened because we were unable to recruit general surgeons,” he told BBC Good Morning Ulster.
“From early February, we will have no general surgeons in substantive posts in the South West Acute Hospital."
Over six recruitment drives, he said there had been no suitable applicants adding "quite simply we’ve tried everything we can".
He added: “We are unable to fill these positions so we have to look at patient safety".
Consultant general surgeon Barry McAree said the recruitment problems at SWAH showed that surgeons had now "voted with their feet".
"I believe that this should have happened a long time ago, as do many others," he told the BBC.
He said the changes would have been made in a more controlled fashion if the Bengoa review, a major report on Northern Ireland's health service in 2016, had been properly implemented.
"The fact is that surgeons and patients are better looked after in bigger units with longer travel times even taken into the mix," he said.
"The word emergency has been overplayed by many with regards to emergency general surgery.
"Unfortunately, realistically, us general surgeons just aren't that important and the majority of what we deal with is classified as urgent."
The public services union NIPSA met the Western Trust this week, with a spokesperson stating they were “extremely concerned” that management was “forcing through the closure” of the service and future services with no viable alternative in place.
“Any cut in services will increase pressure on the other hospitals within the Trust, further exacerbating the safe staffing crisis and putting the lives of the people of Tyrone and Fermanagh at risk,” they said.
The union is considering its next steps after a ballot for industrial action closed yesterday.
